Krazy About Klamath County

Maybe Oregon's best kept secret

You could make a pretty good argument for Pelican Butte,
perched on the western shores of Upper Klamath Lake in southwest Oregon. It's only one
mountain. But who knew you could have so much fun on just one mountain.

Pelican Butte could well be
considered the centerpiece of snowmobiling in Oregon's
KlamathCounty, partly because you can see this 8,036-foot
volcano from just about everywhere in the county but mostly because it's one of
the few big mountains still open to riding in this area. Either way you
shouldn't miss it.

But don't think Pelican Butte is the only place to sled in KlamathCounty-there's plenty of good riding in
the northern three quarters of the county. We spent two full days covering a
lot of territory but still couldn't take all of KlamathCounty
in. There's just too much country for two days.

A Secret

Those two days convinced us KlamathCounty might be Oregon's
best kept snowmobiling secret-maybe even the Pacific
Northwest's.

We managed to use up at bit more than a half-day on Pelican
Butte (we could have spent more time)-that after riding on Brown Mountain, west
of Lake of the Woods, earlier in the day.

Day two took us farther north, where we rode out of AnnieCreekSnoPark,
5.5 miles north of FortKlamath on Oregon Highway
62. We didn't even touch all the riding areas farther north, above ScottCreek.
The DiamondLake
trail is the main path through this area and connects with its namesake, the DiamondLake system. Much of the riding there
hugs the east edge of Crater LakeNational Park. There's
still more snowmobiling in the Chiloquin area, which is north and east of Upper Klamath Lake along the Chiloquin Ridge.

While we put a full day of riding in when we hit BrownMountain
and Pelican Butte, at the day's end, when we looked over the trail map of the
southern part of the Jackson-Klamath Winter Trails Guide, it was obvious we
barely scratched the surface. Nevertheless, we were after some of the
highlights of the area and we definitely weren't disappointed.

We staged out of Lake of the Woods Resort on our first day,
shooting across the lake on our way to BrownMountain
(7,311 feet). The lake sits at 4,963 feet and by the time we reached the summit
of BrownMountain
and were gawking at 360 degrees of sheer Cascade Range
beauty, we had gained more than 2,300 feet. One of the goals of reaching the peak of Brown
Mountain, in addition to the obvious of playing in the snow and boondocking
through the trees, was to catch a view of Mt.Shasta.
That's some mountain when you can be 70 miles away and it still tower over you.
That's what 14,162 feet will do. Unfortunately, after we reached an excellent
view point on the south side of BrownMountain, all we could see was the bottom half of Mt.Shasta
as the top was socked in with clouds. Mt.Shasta did poke its lofty head out
while we were in Klamath Falls,
but it was never while we were on a snowmobile.

Lookin' Around

While on Brown we did catch some great views of MountMcLoughlin
(9,495 feet), in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, and several peaks in the Mountain
Lakes Wilderness. You can look, you just can't touch, at least on a snowmobile.
We were also able to see Lake of the Woods,
and farther to the north, Pelican Butte.

As with many mountains along this stretch of the Cascades, BrownMountain
is a volcano and, aside from its elevation and drainages, presents some
interesting challenges on a snowmobile. We were told to watch out for "hot
spots" on the mountain. These hot spots are some kind of a vent from within the
mountain that emit steam and are evident as spots where there's no snow. Some
are big enough that, well, it could make things interesting on a snowmobile.

The other volcano we climbed on the first day was Pelican
Butte, a definite highlight of riding in KlamathCounty and a near 20-mile trail ride
from Lake of the Woods. At 8,036 feet, Pelican
Butte is another 725 feet higher than BrownMountain.
According to the USGS, Pelican Butte's original volcanic shape is largely
preserved. Glaciation carved a steep canyon and broad cirque in the northeast
flank.

The mountain is loaded with fun, from top to bottom. There
is a trail from the base to the top, where there is a tower usually encrusted
with layers of wind-blown snow. We used parts of the trail to access the summit
but mostly weaved through the trees where the powder was deep and challenging.
Once to the top we again got a great 360-degree view of everything in the
surrounding area. Looking north you can see Crater LakeNational Park.
Look east and you see Upper Klamath Lake and
Chiloquin Ridge. Looking south there is the Mountain Lakes Wilderness, BrownMountain,
Lake of the Woods and farther south, Mt.Shasta. Part of the
reason the views are so spectacular from the top of Pelican Butte is because,
as the USGS points out, the mountain is "detached from the axis of the
Cascades." All that means is that you're a bit away from the rest of the range,
allowing some great views.

Off The Backside

Once the camera was put away, we baled off the top of
Pelican Butte and flew down the mountainside. Locals claim the drop is about
1,100 feet (we have no reason to dispute that) and it's just about straight
down (at least the pucker factor feels that way). Once at the bottom (which
comes up pretty darn fast), the cirque is wide open for hillclimbing and
sidehilling. You don't have to have a big horsepower sled to enjoy Pelican
Butte, but it wouldn't hurt, especially if you want to climb back out. We went
out a different way, toward nearby Point 76, appropriately named for a peak
7,600-feet tall.

The snow was in great shape, untracked and fairly deep,
although the locals will tell you that the depth wasn't what it usually is.
Between 125-200 inches of snow falls in various spots in the county and its
well documented that Crater LakeNational Park, in the north end of KlamathCounty
gets more than 500 inches every winter. The snow was deep enough, though, to
provide a workout as we made our way around Point 76 and the east flank of
Pelican Butte, stopping to track up an open hillside or boondock through a
section of trees every once in a while.

We made a full circle of Pelican Butte at various
elevations, coming back out on top near the tower. From there is was bonsai off
the mountain through the trees until we came out on the Cold Springs Trail and
headed back to Lake of the Woods. Mark it down
as one of the best rides of Winter 2006-07.

One of the great features about the trail system in Klamath
County is that several trails, much like Pelican Butte, take you to the tops of
mountains in the area, including Buck Peak (8,080), Robinson Butte (5,864) and
Surveyor Peak (6,300) to name a few.

Pinnacles To Liars Niche

Another one of the best rides came a day later when we went
farther north and rode out of AnnieCreekSnoPark. We covered a lot of
territory that day, from the Pinnacles to Liars Niche. Liars Niche is just a
few miles north of Pelican Butte but we approached it from the north, out of
the sno park.

This area is closest to Crater LakeNational Park,
with some trails leading up to the edge or going along the boundary of the
Park. Of course, riding in this part of the Park is off limits to snowmobiles
but you can ride up to the boundary.

Our first destination on day two was the Pinnacles, really
cool and unique geological features that are visible from just off the
Pinnacles snowmobile trail (whoever named the trails in KlamathCounty
didn't complicate a thing), along Sand Creek. The Pinnacles were sculpted by
volcanic gasses and then erosion. Spires are all that are left from the hot
gasses which spewed out of vents, which solidified the rock. Erosion then took
over, cutting away the softer outer rock.

From there it was south to Sand Ridge, a fun play area with
some open hillsides and lots of trees. On Sand Ridge (6,300 feet), we left the
snowmobiles for a short hike through the trees to an open hillside on the south
side. Once out of the trees, we could see Pelican Butte, the mountains in Sky
Lakes Wilderness, Klamath Point and a peak named Goose Nest (7,249). There are
a few markers on trees letting you know where the CLNP boundary is, but you
still have to pay attention so as to not wander inside the boundary.

Some of the best snow of the two days of riding was at Liars
Niche. We found some ridges to play on and pounded on a hillside for quite a
while before it was time to head back to the truck. Along the way, you'll hit
Dwight's Flight, a fairly steep section of trail that is groomed. You just have
to ride it to appreciate how on earth a groomer smoothes that section out.

No, Really? Powder?

We were surprised at how much powder there was in the
mountains, thinking that because KlamathCounty is so close to the
ocean that the snows would be wet and heavy, which it was down lower. But once
you gained elevation, like on Brown, Pelican Butte and Liars Niche, it was
powder bustin' time.

There are two snowmobile clubs-Klamath Basin Snowdrifters
and Chiloquin Ridge Riders-that groom 300 miles of trails in the county but you
can tack on another 100 miles of groomed trails from the Rogue Snowmobile Club.
Add to that what DiamondLake grooms and you've got nearly 1,000 miles of
trails in this corner of Oregon.

KlamathCounty is an easy place
to get to, not too far from the I-5 corridor, but it's far enough off the
beaten path that you can have the riding all to yourself as we did. And with
the amount of country available for riding and the high mileage of groomed
trails, any crowds there are are easily dispersed in the backcountry.

You've got the complete snowmobile package when it comes to
Klamath County-snow, backcountry riding, plenty of trails (groomed and ungrounded),
a variety of services, a place that actually welcomes snowmobiles and enough
country that you don't run out after a day of riding.

Getting ThereKlamath Falls is about an
hour east of Interstate 5 but there are numerous access points to the county,
depending on where you want to end up. U.S. Highway 97 is the main north/south
highway through the county while Oregon Highways 66, 138 and 140 all provide
access. Klamath Falls is 280 miles south of Portland and 300 miles north of Sacramento. Horizon Air provides air service
to Klamath FallsAirport.

Getting Around Arctic
Cat, Polaris and Yamaha all have dealers in Klamath Falls. The closest Ski-Do dealer is
in Medford (80
miles)

Bedding Down
There are several motels, hotels, lodges and resorts right in town or not far
from town. We tried three different locations during our trip to Klamath Falls. First was
Lake of the Woods Resort (866-201-4194 or www.lakeofthewoodsresort.com),
which is 32 miles northwest of Klamath
Falls off Oregon Highway 140. The resort sits among
tall pines on the banks of Lake of the Woods
and is a mile or so off the main highway. There are several cabins (the oldest
cabin dates back to 1922) to choose from but don't expect TVs or phones in the
cabins (although there is a phone at the marina). The cabins are all cooking
cabins, have been remodeled and sleep anywhere from 2-8 people. The cabins are
cozy, clean and warm. Staying at Lake of the Woods
is all about quiet and one of its big advantages is that you can ride right
from the resort. The Marina Bar & Grill are open weekends and there is a
store at the resort. And, more than likely, you won't have too tough of a time
convincing resort general manager George Gregory to go out riding with you.

Our next night was spent in town at the Best Western Olympic
Inn (800-600-9665 or http://klamathfallshotelmotel.com)
in Klamath Falls.
The Olympic is very nice, is non smoking and offers all the amenities you'd
expect in a modern hotel. Hot soup and freshly baked bread are served every
day, as is a hot breakfast. The hotel also has some really cool photographs of Crater Lake. The Olympic is close to several restaurants
and offers easy access to the highways that lead to the riding areas.

Then there is the Lonesome Duck Ranch and Resort, owned by
Steve and Debbie Hilbert, located on the banks of the WilliamsonRiver
off Highway 97 in Chiloquin. The name of the resort even has a story. The Hilbert's
are big fans of the series Lonesome Dove and both also went to the University of Oregon, where the mascot is the
Ducks-hence the name Lonesome Duck. Steve also played football for the Ducks.

The setting is really something else, on the banks of the
river with the Chiloquin Ridge looming large to the east. The Lonesome Duck
sits on 200 acres and has 2.5 miles of river front and offers lots of quiet in
this stunningly scenic setting.

The main house utilizes some lumber from the premises'
original barn and there are three homes for rent: Eagles Nest (sleeps 6-8);
Rivers Edge (sleeps 6-8); and Arrowhead Cottage (sleeps 1-4), one of the
original ranch houses. All three have fully equipped kitchens and are modern in
a rustic kind of way. If you want to be pampered, the Lonesome Duck is your
place. And the rates are very reasonable (check the website) during the winter.

Eating OutKlamath Falls has just
about every kind of eating establishment you can think of from chain
restaurants to locally-owned and operated eateries.